


sorrowvirus

by bukkunkun



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon-Typical Violence, First Kiss, Inspired by Twitter, M/M, Mild Blood, Rabies, Temporary Character Death, True Love's Kiss, how dare you not have a bumpis tag ao3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-23
Updated: 2019-03-23
Packaged: 2019-11-28 13:27:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18208916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bukkunkun/pseuds/bukkunkun
Summary: inspired bya joke gone wrong, courtesy of twitter user @keebatiger.Xehanort pushes Sora into the deepest pits of despair, corrupting his Dream Eaters.(alternatively, Meow Wow and Friends Get Rabies.)





	sorrowvirus

**Author's Note:**

> > that means Riku goes feral, you realise that
>> 
>> — ⭕️bukkun (@trickscd) [23 March 2019](https://twitter.com/trickscd/status/1109262320167878656?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
> 
> this fuckin' thread, yo....
> 
> so i was standing in my local s&r and twitter users [@drewgamblord](https://twitter.com/DrewGamblord) and [@keebatiger](https://twitter.com/keebatiger) had absolutely no chill. so naturally i stepped up to the task for a warmup exercise for pirateland, coming march 28 to a gumroad store near you.
> 
> title inspired by the game [the sorrowvirus.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1v5g-yyEiA)
> 
> don't understand my dream eater naming convention? [this'll explain it for you.](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14749472/chapters/34102214) meow wow being called bumpis is thanks to niku and pals and i love them ~~but don't tell them i said that~~

It started off as an odd, frightening occurrence.

After Riku had defeated Ansem, he watched The World That Never Was fade away from around him, and he sighed deeply, slumping down in relief as he escaped the realm of sleep to return to the real world. He looked around himself, at the familiar surroundings, at the same building where Roxas broke his wrist, and huffed slightly.

“Can’t say I missed this spot,” he muttered, looking around. He remembered vaguely a big black mushroom Heartless standing in place here at the foot of the skyscraper, and as his Keeba Tiger Macaroon rubbed its head against his palm, asking for a pet. He chuckled fondly, giving it the attention it wanted, and turned to find Bumpis—no doubt his tubby little friend deserved some petting, too—and he smiled when he saw the good boy slumped over on the ground, panting softly. “Oh, hey. Bumpis, over here.” He called to it kindly, but it didn’t move. He frowned slightly, and cocked his head. “Bumpis? Buddy?”

Macaroon whined slightly, nudging at Riku’s side, and the teen’s frown deepened. Cautiously he looked around for danger—but there was nothing there, not a single nightmare around them, and he swallowed nervously as he summoned his Keyblade to his hand.

“Heal!” He raised his Keyblade to the air, seeing vines and clover sigils surround him. The same circle surrounded Macaroon, and Bumpis, and the little blue cat-dog didn’t move. Worry knotted in Riku’s heart as he cautiously approached the Meow Wow—

When Bumpis whirled around, snarling angrily. Riku’s eyes widened, and he held his Keyblade up defensively as the Dream Eater charged at him, scratching and biting at him as best as it could, but its little arms and horn were too short to hit him, especially thanks to the Keyblade holding them apart. Riku’s heart broke at the sight of Bumpis so wild—so _feral,_ and he threw the Spirit back, panting heavily as he felt an odd sense of dread crawling up his heart, clogging his throat.

“Wh-what the—” He managed, “Bumpis, what’s going on?”

The Dream Eater didn’t reply, seemingly unable to give him those adorable meow-barks he’d grown to love, charging right back at him with the intention of ramming its horn into his side. Riku grit his teeth and slashed at Bumpis, wincing as he heard it whimper, but before he could think on it any further, Macaroon dove at the Meow Wow, catching it between its teeth. Riku gasped, and reached out for the Keeba Tiger to stop, but Macaroon bit down _hard_ with the sound of a loud _pop_ of a balloon, and Bumpis went limp in its grip.

Riku felt bile crawling up his throat, dropping his Keyblade to clamp his hands over his mouth as Macaroon shook Bumpis a few more times before dropping its limp body to the ground, where it disappeared in a burst of light, leaving behind a Troubling Fantasy where Bumpis lay.

Panting, Riku stared at it—he’d never, ever had a Spirit die on him before. Macaroon looked apologetic, nudging at Riku’s side gently, and Riku petted it distractedly.

“Oh, my gosh.” He breathed. “Bumpis, I…” Shakily, he picked up the material, and crumbled to the ground. “Bumpis…”

Macaroon curled up against his side, whining as Riku held the material close to his heart, feeling tears prickle his eyes.

“Wh-what happened? What made him act like that?” He asked weakly, as he summoned another Spirit to his side, the Aura Lion he’d named Sora. Together, the two Spirits helped Riku back onto his feet, the teen sniffling softly as he looked forlornly down at the Troubling Fantasy in his hands. “What’s going on?”

He looked up at the castle, and felt the despair that was crawling around in his chest. It felt like snakes writhing in a basket together, their fangs dripping with venom sinking deep into his heart where it festered. He could feel himself rotting from the inside out, and his breaths were starting to grow shorter and shorter.

“Sora…” he strained himself to speak, “Sora, what’s… going on?”

* * *

“And awaken.”

Sora jolted awake, gasping for breath, struggling against Xehanort’s hold on him, but he choked when the older teen slammed him into the backrest of the throne they were on. The silver-haired teen’s grin widened down at him as Sora struggled to breathe, tears rolling down his cheeks freely, and he looked up at him, alarm marring his youthful face.

“Wh-what did you—” Sora managed, coughing when Xehanort let him go, and he held his heart, curling up on himself as he shuddered, sniffling as the sorrow continued to flow from his broken heart. It was all he could feel—the despair, the pain from the past, from Roxas and that other blond boy—that girl with black hair, and Namine. Their hurt sat in his heart like jagged pieces of broken glass, prying it apart from the inside and tearing him open as it burst from the seams. The hurt overflowed from his heart, seizing his body into stillness, spilling from his eyes, and Sora could hardly see. Oh, where was Bumpis?

Riku—where was _Riku?_

“Does it hurt, Sora? Does the sorrow burrow inside you like a virus?” Xehanort leaned into Sora’s face, smirking down at him as Sora continued to cry, pressing the heels of his hands into his eyes. “Does it tear you apart? The sorrowvirus of hurt you carry with you, corrupting you from within, leaving cracks in your heart that I can so easily reach into?”

“S-shut up,” Sora countered, sniffling as he wiped at his eyes, frustrated. He kicked at Xehanort weakly, but the young man laughed, only leaning away slightly to dodge Sora’s foot. He leaned back in, taking Sora’s wrists to pry his hands away from Sora’s face, laughing at the token resistance Sora gave before Xehanort finally got a clear view of Sora’s face.

“Oh, you cry so sweetly, Sora.” He said, “Come on, now, carry all that hurt. Let it fester inside you.” He urged, “Let it hurt you, Sora. It’s already hurt your little _friends._ ”

Sora jolted, and he gaped up at Xehanort.

“Riku…!”

“Yes.” Xehanort chuckled lowly, letting him go, and he turned around, spreading his arm to gesture grandly at the entrance to the throne room, where Sora could see Riku struggling as he made he way in. He was leaning heavily on their Aura Lion, and their Macaroon was supporting him on the other side. Their Komory Bat was perched on Riku’s head, snarling angrily at Xehanort, and much to Sora’s shock, it dove right at Xehanort. The young man scoffed, summoning his Keyblade before slashing at it. Sora gasped, throwing himself out of his seat to reach for the little pastel yellow bat, and it turned to look at him.

His heart dropped to his gut at the sight of its eyes—no longer any friendly disposition, but a bright, angry red. Feral and _furious,_ like it had been completely lost to the dark.

No, not the dark—

To the _hurt,_ the pain inside him, poisoning his Dream Eaters from the inside out, just like his pain and sadness was tearing him apart.

“Komory Bat!” He gasped, catching it as it fell, and it snarled and squirmed in Sora’s arms, biting and scratching at him, and Sora could only cry as he held it close to his heart, his tears disappearing into the soft yellow fur of his ever-smiling friend. “Komory Bat, no…”

“I’ll leave you two to get reacquainted.” Xehanort chuckled, and disappeared into a dark portal, but Sora didn’t care.

He ignored the wounds in his arms, the bleeding lines of red that ran down from his wrists and fingers, and watched as Komory Bat faded into light, leaving behind a piece of Rampant Fantasy in his arms. Sora’s expression crumbled, and he burst into tears, catching the attentions of Riku, Macaroon and their Aura Lion.

“S-Sora!” Riku’s voice sounded _wrecked,_ but right as they saw their master, Macaroon and the Aura Lion snarled, as if losing it completely, diving at each other to start attacking each other, tearing at their throats. Riku gasped, dropping to the ground as Sora reached for them in vain, dropping the Rampant Fantasy to the platform, but he couldn’t do much else as the two Spirits began to fight to the death. Sora watched them go with wide, teary eyes, but his attention snapped away from them as Riku rushed over to him, panting heavily as he held Sora’s arms. Sora’s eyes snapped towards him, at the sight of Riku looking like hell froze right over, and realisation dawned in him.

“Riku, you’re—”

“I’m sorry, Sora,” he panted, wincing, and his grip on Sora’s arms tightened. “I’m—I’m your Dream Eater, but I—” He flinched, and he pulled away from Sora with a shout. Sora shot up to his feet, but Riku shook his head, holding his hand out for Sora to stop. “No!” he shouted, with far more aggression than Sora had ever seen him, and his heart caught in his throat as he saw phantom claws growing around Riku’s curled fists. Behind him, a pair of bat wings sprung out with the sound of cracking, tearing flesh, and Riku screamed, his voice taking on a monstrous howl as he bent over, struggling to keep himself together. He dug his hands into his arms, sinking his claws into his skin, and Sora gasped at the sight of blood running down Riku’s arms.

“It’s—it’s the hurt,” Sora said weakly, “It’s corrupting you—Riku, please, let me—”

“No!” Riku snarled, his eyes flashing yellow, and Sora gaped at him. “Sora…” He shook his head. “Sora, I don’t want to hurt you.”

Sora’s eyes welled with tears and he collapsed to the ground. The hurt inside his heart grew heavier and heavier, and he sniffled, burying his face into his hands.

This was all his fault—he couldn’t control his own emotions, and now it was hurting Riku, too. It was fine if it was just him—he could take it, he _should_ be able to take it—but it’d killed Komory Bat, it drove Macaroon and Aura Lion into madness.

_Where was Bumpis, even? Had Bumpis succumbed to it already?_

“Sora…” Riku choked, hesitantly reaching out to the brunet. Oh, it hurt, truly—the sorrowvirus that was corrupting him was excruciatingly painful, but nothing hurt more than seeing Sora like this.

Lost, afraid. Hurting.

_He’d promised._

“Sora, don’t—” he winced, and fell over, too, and Sora snapped out of his trance, looking up at Riku in shock. Sora shot up to help Riku up, and the older teen panted heavily, forcing a smile on his lips as he reached out for his best friend, thumbing away vainly at his tears. “Sora, hey. Don’t… worry about me.” He managed past the pain strangling his throat, “Please, you gotta—you gotta keep your head up. Smile.”

He could care less that he was dying—Sora was much more important.

Sora was his entire _world,_ his most important person.

“Sora, hey,” he said gently, cupping Sora’s face in his trembling hands, and Sora looked up at him, wide-eyed, unmindful of the phantom claws on his cheeks, of the blood that smeared his skin. “This Dream Eater runs on smiles, okay?”

Sora laughed deliriously, choking on his tears as Riku wiped them away again, leaning forward to press a kiss to his forehead.

“Please, until the very end, don’t stop smiling for me.” Riku murmured shakily, “If that’s the last thing I get to see, I’ll know it’ll be worth it.”

“Riku—” Sora breathed, but the older teen collapsed on top of him. Sora struggled to hold him in his arms, feeling tears roll down his cheeks even harder, sobbing over Riku’s collapsed form as Xehanort appeared again, clapping slowly.

“Oh, how moving.” He drawled, pacing around the two as Sora gingerly turned Riku over in his lap, brushing his hair out of his face as he looked into Riku’s pained expression. “That was very touching, I have to say. The boy who was willing to sacrifice everything for you, now lies dead in your arms, _because_ of you. Imagine the hurt that brought!”

He chuckled softly, turning to look at Sora, who still ignored him.

“And now your heart is split right in two,” he said, “Now, you will be _mine._ ”

Sora ignored him still, looking down at Riku’s face, wishing from the bottom of his heart that he’d at least looked peaceful as he faded away. His heart, indeed, felt like it was split wide open, and he _knew_ it was all over—all according to Xehanort’s plan, his heart is wide open for him to take, but—

But there was something else, a bigger regret Sora carried with him.

“I never got to tell you…” he said weakly, “I never got to tell you how much I love you.”

Love, he said, never loved. He would _always_ love him, ever since the beginning, ever since they were children. Riku was his light, and he was Riku’s light, and that never changed.

He’d never even kissed him. He never will.

Sora squeezed his eyes shut. He could at least say goodbye. He took Riku’s hand in his, still warm and still _there,_ and he squeezed it tightly.

Xehanort raised his Keyblade.

Sora leaned down, and kissed Riku.

Suddenly light burst out from between them, and Xehanort hesitated, shouting in alarm as he was thrown back. He slammed against the wall, shouting in alarm and pain, and he dropped to the ground, his Keyblade falling out of his hands and clattering to the floor, before disappearing into the darkness.

“What—” he hissed, but another burst of light surrounded the room, and he shielded his eyes from it, wincing. “What is this outrage?” He shouted, and when the light died down, he gasped.

In the middle of the platform, Sora sat with Riku, still kissing, but Riku was now sitting up, Sora on his lap. The brunet’s hand was on Riku’s cheek, the other one holding desperately onto Riku’s wrist. Riku held Sora close, cupping his cheek in his hand and cradling the back of his head with the other.

Oh, it was perfect. The feel of Riku’s lips against his, soft and kind, was everything he’d ever dreamed of. It was wonderful, to kiss him like this, to hold him against his heart, alive and well and _okay,_ and Sora choked up at the thought of it, sheer _joy_ radiating from his heart.

They parted slowly, dazedly looking into each other’s eyes, and Sora laughed disbelievingly, his tears drying up at the kind, warm light that radiated from Riku’s heart.

“You’re okay,” Sora breathed, reaching up to brush Riku’s hair aside to see his eyes, and Riku smiled down at him, nodding as he kissed Sora again. Sora smiled into their kiss, throwing his arms around the back of Riku’s neck, and when they parted again, shared laughter rang through the air as the song in their hearts once again played a tune.

It was just like in the Symphony of Sorcery, a lovely heartbeat of a tune that played together in perfect harmony, and Riku pressed their foreheads together.

“You saved me again, Sora.” He said warmly. “Thank you.”

“This is _preposterous!_ ” Xehanort snarled, and Riku shot up onto his feet, growing wings and phantom claws again as his eyes narrowed into angry slits. He stood between him and Sora protectively, snarling furiously as Sora got up onto his feet as well, summoning his Keyblade to his hands. The older teen growled at them, and summoned his own Keyblade. “That indomitable _light._ ” He spat. “It means nothing to the grand scheme of things—Sora will still be ours.”

“I’d like to see you try,” Riku smirked, and looked at Sora. “You ready?”

Sora nodded determinedly, and settled down into a ready stance.

“We’re so talking about that kiss later.” He said, and Riku laughed as he got into a ready stance, too.

“Yes, sir.” He said, and the both of them charged at Xehanort.

* * *

Sora and Riku landed gently together in Traverse Town, hand in hand.

“Do you think we’ll find them here?” Sora asked, unsure, and Riku nodded.

“You brought me back,” he said, pulling out a yellow Shield Cookie from his pocket. “I’m sure you brought them back, too.”

Sora bit his lip, and the two of them came to a stop in the middle of the entrance square. They looked around, and Sora deflated.

“They’re… really gone.”

“I wouldn’t be too sure of that.” Riku chuckled, and broke the Shield Cookie in half.

Suddenly, the sound of meow-barking caught their attentions, and Sora lit up, whirling around to see Bumpis charging at them, tears in its eyes. He spread his arms wide, bending down to let the Spirit tackle him in a hug, crying up a storm as it licked Sora’s face affectionately. Riku laughed, wiping a tear of relief from his eyes as Bumpis turned to look at him, and began to whine and cry as well, tackling Riku to shower him with apologetic kisses. Komory Bat and the others hurried back to them, too, all cooing and crying up a storm in their relief to see their masters again, and Sora laughed, crying tears of joy as he hugged every single one of them, apologising all the way.

Riku watched them from afar, cuddling with Komory Bat affectionately, and smiled.

Sora’s happiness meant the world to him, now more than ever. He felt the song in their hearts swell along with the emotion building inside him, and he chuckled fondly.

Oh, he loved him so much. He would do anything for him.

“Riku!” Sora smiled at him, radiant in the middle of a multicolour crowd of affectionate Dream Eaters, and Riku smiled back at him.

And now more than ever, he knew—it was that love that would let him do the impossible.

**Author's Note:**

> hey acts of true love solve everything, thanks [theory doc](https://twitter.com/Nikutsune/status/1101065470017384449)
> 
>  
> 
>  **ETA:** upon closer inspection this was rather shoddily written so i should claim that this fic was unbeta'd and was written in like, an hour or two i am so fuckin sorry but im too tired to fix any glaring errors here


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